Galin Dragiev

Matchday Wrap Up

Matchday Wrap Up Aug 24th

Arsenal responded well to pressure after last week’s loss to Aston Villa and beat Fulham at Craven Cottage 3 – 1. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring early on and Lucas Podolski scored two goals to put Fulham away. Darren Bent returned a goal late but that wasn’t enough to scare to Arsenal as the game was practically done after the third goal.

There isn’t much to say about a nil – nil draw. Everton and West Brom both remain winless, Everton tying their first game and West Brom loosing theirs. Everton seemed frustrated to not be able to score at home and West Brom also looked weak on the attack without Nicolas Anelka.

Hull City 1 – 0 Norwich City

Hull City took the lead in the 20th minute after Yannick Sagbo won a penalty and Robbie Brady capitalized. Sagbo was sent off minutes later and Hull had to hold on to their lead for more than an hour. Both teams looked weak and the score didn’t change until the end. The penalty proved to be the deciding goal and Hull City can consider themselves lucky to have won the game, as a 0-0 draw would be more fitting of this game.

Newcastle 0 – 0 West Ham

Today feels more like Serie A than the Premier League, as another game ended in a 0-0 draw. West Ham were probably the better team here but failed to capitalize on their chances. Stewart Downing, Modibo Maiga, and Kevin Nolan all missed clear cut chances to put the Hammers ahead and manager Sam Allardyce was disappointed with the poor finishing. Newcastle’s Yoan Gouffran missed from a few yards out in stoppage-time in the best chance of the game.

Sunderland went up early in the game with a goal from Emanuele Giaccherini but were dominated for the rest of the game. Southampton pressured Sunderland over and over but good goalkeeping from Kieren Westwood and bad luck prevented them from scoring until late in the game. In the 87th minute, Jose Fonte scored an equalizer on a header following a free kick. The Saints missed a number of chances, as Rickie Lambert and company had 17 shots(6 on target). The Saints should be happy with their performance so far this season as they have four points in two games and have looked impressive in both.

Stoke City 2 – 1 Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace took the lead with a goal from new signing Marouane Chamakh but that wasn’t enough to win points today. Second half goals from Charlie Adam and Ryan Shawcross gave Stoke the lead and won them three points. Stoke’s goals and overall play were very sloppy, and Crystal Palace need to wonder if they could have done better to clear the ball.

Aston Villa 0 – 1 Liverpool

Aston Villa weren’t as impressive today as they were in the first two games of the season and were deservedly beaten. Liverpool played well and in the 22nd minute, Coutinho let a pass slide by to Daniel Sturridge, who beat his defender and the keeper to score the only goal of the game. It was pretty straight forward from there on out and Liverpool kept the clean sheet. Benteke had a pair of dangerous shots that were saved brilliantly from Mignolet.

Fulham 1 – 3 Arsenal

Arsenal responded well to pressure after last week’s loss to Aston Villa and beat Fulham at Craven Cottage 3 – 1. Olivier Giroud opened the scoring early on and Lucas Podolski scored two goals to put Fulham away. Darren Bent returned a goal late but that wasn’t enough to scare to Arsenal as the game was practically done after the third goal.

There isn’t much to say about a nil – nil draw. Everton and West Brom both remain winless, Everton tying their first game and West Brom loosing theirs. Everton seemed frustrated to not be able to score at home and West Brom also looked weak on the attack without Nicolas Anelka.

Hull City 1 – 0 Norwich City

Hull City took the lead in the 20th minute after Yannick Sagbo won a penalty and Robbie Brady capitalized. Sagbo was sent off minutes later and Hull had to hold on to their lead for more than an hour. Both teams looked weak and the score didn’t change until the end. The penalty proved to be the deciding goal and Hull City can consider themselves lucky to have won the game, as a 0-0 draw would be more fitting of this game.

Newcastle 0 – 0 West Ham

Today feels more like Serie A than the Premier League, as another game ended in a 0-0 draw. West Ham were probably the better team here but failed to capitalize on their chances. Stewart Downing, Modibo Maiga, and Kevin Nolan all missed clear cut chances to put the Hammers ahead and manager Sam Allardyce was disappointed with the poor finishing. Newcastle’s Yoan Gouffran missed from a few yards out in stoppage-time in the best chance of the game.

Sunderland went up early in the game with a goal from Emanuele Giaccherini but were dominated for the rest of the game. Southampton pressured Sunderland over and over but good goalkeeping from Kieren Westwood and bad luck prevented them from scoring until late in the game. In the 87th minute, Jose Fonte scored an equalizer on a header following a free kick. The Saints missed a number of chances, as Rickie Lambert and company had 17 shots(6 on target). The Saints should be happy with their performance so far this season as they have four points in two games and have looked impressive in both.

Stoke City 2 – 1 Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace took the lead with a goal from new signing Marouane Chamakh but that wasn’t enough to win points today. Second half goals from Charlie Adam and Ryan Shawcross gave Stoke the lead and won them three points. Stoke’s goals and overall play were very sloppy, and Crystal Palace need to wonder if they could have done better to clear the ball.

Aston Villa 0 – 1 Liverpool

Aston Villa weren’t as impressive today as they were in the first two games of the season and were deservedly beaten. Liverpool played well and in the 22nd minute, Coutinho let a pass slide by to Daniel Sturridge, who beat his defender and the keeper to score the only goal of the game. It was pretty straight forward from there on out and Liverpool kept the clean sheet. Benteke had a pair of dangerous shots that were saved brilliantly from Mignolet.

Galin D. is a Rotoworld contributor who enjoys writing about soccer (football). He can be found on Twitter at @GalinDragiev.Email :Galin Dragiev